Last year, the horological world shed a collective tear when Patek Philippe announced that the Nautilus ref. 5711 — a grail-status piece for many a collector — was set to be discontinued. However, the Swiss watchmaker’s latest releases have seemingly rendered the separation anxiety unnecessary, with a rather….familiar face — or more rather dial — making a comeback.
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Much like a phoenix from the ashes, the Nautilus has risen again. Among the octet of Patek Philippe releases this year are a quartet of Nautiluses (or is it Nautili?). The Nautilus lineup comprises the ref. 5712/1R-001, a moon phase complication; the ref. 7118/1300R-001, a haute jewellery style marketed towards women; the ref. 5990/1A, an old favourite with a new dial hue; and the ref. 5811/1G-001, a familiar aesthetic with a material twist.
Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5712/1R-001
While the ref. 5711 successor is set to be the talk of the town, it’d be remiss to sleep on the new ref. 5712/1R-001. Fitted with an ultra-thin self-winding calibre with a moon phase complication, this timepiece pairs a rose gold case with a brown sunburst dial with a subtle black graduation to the rim of the dial. The dial arrangement takes on an unconventional form, eschewing typical layouts in favour of an asymmetrical approach. A riff off the blue dial/stainless steel variant of the re. 5712, the tonal warm brown dial/rose gold combination allows the ref. 5712/1R-001 to take on a dressier tone than its predecessor.
Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 7118/1300R-001
The combination of its 68-baguette set spessartites and 35.2mm case size has Patek positioning the ref. 7118/1300R-001 as a ‘ladies’ watch’, however, we think anyone can pull this off with enough sartorial confidence.
Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5811/1G-001
The pièce de résistance. The ref. 5811/1G-001 has emerged as the successor to the ref. 5711 that was introduced in 2006 and was produced until 2021 (which, in turn, represented a follow-up to the ref. 3700 Nautilus launched in 1976). The ref. 5811/1G-001 has been slightly beefed up from 40mm to 41mm and gets a material upgrade.
While the stainless steel composition of the Nautilus ref. 5711 models hasn’t stopped them from selling on the secondary market for well over the price of their gold counterparts, the ref. 5811/1G-001 sees the case and bracelet upgraded to white gold, complementing the blue sunburst dial. The two-part case also marks a departure from the three-part composition employed by the ref. 5711 and harks back to the monobloc case of the ref. 3700. A sapphire glass caseback allows wearers to enjoy viewing the self-winding calibre 26-330 S C at work.
Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5990/1A
For fans of the blue dial and stainless steel colour pairing, the new Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5990/1A, also known as the ‘Travel Time’, represents a viable alternative to the ref. 5711. A flyback chronograph with dual-time functionality, it showcases two (home and local) time zones with two separate hour hands; with the skeletonized hand displaying home time. An analog date at 12 o’clock is synced with local time.
The new releases are available to explore — and buy, if you’re part of the 0.1% — via the Patek Philippe webstore and in physical boutiques.
Words by Theo Rosen
